Have you ever dreamed of completely changing your life? Of travelling to the other side of the world to fully embrace your passion?
In 2016, I reached that turning point. Just one week after graduating as a bioscience engineer from the Université catholique de Louvain, I arrived in Nicaragua with my suitcase. In the city of Granada, I found a job in an industry that had fascinated me ever since my eighteenth birthday: the wonderful world of cigars.
It all began when I smoked my very first cigar with my father in the smoking lounge of a Brussels restaurant. Some time later, I met Vincent Manil, one of the last traditional tobacco producers in the Semois region of the Belgian Ardennes. His fascinating stories and our captivating conversations inspired me to pursue a career in the tobacco industry.
After exchanging countless emails with numerous tobacco producers, I was contacted, through a mutual friend, by Claudio Sgroi, master blender and president of Mombacho Cigars. The factory produces exclusively puros made from Nicaraguan tobacco, with its cigars mainly distributed throughout the American and Canadian markets.
The company’s philosophy centres on producing 100% handmade cigars, with particular attention paid to quality and the well-being of its employees. After several conversations, Claudio offered me a position at the factory. For me, it was the perfect opportunity to discover everything there was to know about the different stages of cigar production.
During my first month at work, I learned the fundamentals of this fascinating craft. Afterwards, I focused primarily on the technical aspects, such as handling tobacco leaves, the fermentation process and identifying the different varieties of tobacco.
It was here that I also learned how to smoke a cigar from a technical perspective. From a producer’s point of view, it is absolutely essential to analyse the construction of a cigar with precision, while paying close attention to the remarkable sensations it creates for the smoker’s senses of smell and taste.
Today, I am responsible for quality control and preparing tobacco leaves for the cigar rollers. I also supervise the various drying stages, right through to the sorting and classification of the leaves that will eventually be used as filler tobacco.
I frequently organise factory tours for customers and tourists, visitors with whom I am always delighted to share a few of the secrets behind cigar production.
My ambition is to continue expanding my knowledge of cigar-making techniques, day after day. In the future, I would also like to explore the agricultural side of tobacco cultivation in greater depth.
My ultimate long-term dream is to run my own business and grow my own tobacco wrapper leaves.
